Vodafone Malta Foundation is one of the main sponsors of the 2005 Lifecycle Challenge. This year’s challenge will see volunteers cycling over 1,850 kilometres from Budapest in Hungary to Athens, Greece, in order to raise funds for the Renal Unit at St Luke’s Hospital.

Lifecycle Organisation, which was founded in 1999, has two main aims in addition to that of raising funds for the Renal Unit. These are to promote organ donation and to educate the public about the causes of kidney failure such as diabetes and hypertension of which Malta has a very high incidence rate.

“The cost of the dialysis treatment given to patients suffering from renal problems is around Lm1.8 million a year. The very expensive nature of the treatment provided means that the Renal Unit at St Luke’s Hospital needs a great deal of help and support from the Maltese community in order to continue giving the excellent service for which it is rightly renowned. Over the years Lifecycle has been at the forefront helping patients with kidney problems and the Vodafone Malta Foundation is, therefore, delighted to be one of the main sponsors of this year’s challenge,” said Vodafone Malta Foundation chairperson Gemma Mifsud Bonnici.

The 2005 Lifecycle Challenge will take place between 29 August and 7 September. Two Vodafone Malta employees, Christian Calleja and Sandro Pisani, will be taking part in this year’s challenge.

Further information on Lifecycle can be obtained from the website; www.lifecyclechallenge.com